What You NEED to Know about Apologia Young Explorers Science Curriculum | PROS & CONS
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- Опубликовано: 21 авг 2024
- Let's talk about the pros and cons you should be aware of when considering using Apologia's Young Explorers science curriculums for 1st-6th grade.
Find Apologia science curriculum here (my affiliate link):
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I'm Rachel, a mom of two and the oldest in a family of 8 kids. I'm a second-generation homeschooler who is passionate about education. I'm originally from Michigan, but am living overseas. My two young boys and teaching homeschool lessons to my youngest sisters keep me busy, but I make time for writing and for making RUclips videos, too! On this channel, you can expect videos featuring books and homeschool curriculum, homeschool tips for hard days, our journey raising bilingual kids, and vlogs about the intentional adventure that our homeschool lifestyle allows! Subscribe to join our family here:
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Visit Apologia's website to see more from this science curriculum (my affiliate link): www.apologia.com?a_aid=64fab0b14d787
I love the flexibility of Apologia. My son is science person and doing extremely well with Flying Creatures in first grade, but since his science is far more advanced than his reading and writing, I didn’t bother getting the journal for him this year. We use a plain primary journal instead so I can write down what he remembered and he can copy it and draw a picture. I also looked up what books our library had before the beginning of the school year and made a list to order each week, but he keeps sneaking in extra off-topic ones, too (if he wants me to read Jim Arnosky to him, that’s what we’re doing). And because I’m a bit over obsessed with planning, I also saved some coloring pages to print each week, so my pre-k daughter can join whenever she likes (always). I’m not loving the endless birds, more particularly the bird activities, but that probably has more to do with being eight months pregnant…
Using a plain notebook to do some journaling and notebooking is a great idea! We are a big fan of Jim Arnosky's nature picture books over here. And it can be tough to muster up the energy for all the learning 'activities' during tough seasons of pregnancy!
Thank you so much. Your video really helped me decide if this curriculum is for my family. You provided so much information and pretty much answered all my questions.
Glad it was helpful!
You are a WEALTH of information! My goodness I appreciate you!!!
Thank you!
We are generally secular but i have heard apologia is really good scientifically, so im learning more about them to see if they will fit. We are thinking of earth science.
Apologia is known for being written from a young earth Creation perspective, regularly includes references to God as Creator and also includes Bible verses about the awesomeness of the Creator and Creation--so if you prefer secular resources that don't contain that sort of content, it may not be a good fit.
Great break down, thanks so much for sharing! Have an amazing school year!
Thank you!
Thank you for the insight on why tests can be helpful for brainy little students! The value there might even be more in the character formation moment than in how much science, etc., we have learned. ;) "Those convinced against their will..." I love homeschooling, for the education side of things, but man, the parenting! 😅
The parenting will always be the hardest part of homeschooling! And yes, I think tests in the elementary years are much more about building character and awareness of what one does or does not know than they are about the actual science facts, etc. :)
We are using the Apologia Chemistry and Physics this year with our fifth grader and I completely agree- it’s suited more for 4th through 6th grade. I like how simple the activities/experiments are and the conversational style of the writing. We aren’t using the journal - just using our own binder.
They definitely do a good job with the conversational writing style--the textbooks are loaded with info, but they definitely are not dry!
We're definitely a science family. Our main problem every year is picking our sciences. I was hoping to finish one each semester but my kids decided that wasn't enough. We're cracking open our second science curriculum of the year next month and I'm currently trying to narrow down a #3 in case this happens again.
Of course we're also the type of family that loved Sonlight's K science and could have studied ants all year.
It's definitely true that for kids who REALLY love science, one curriculum just might not be enough. :)
Very helpful, thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
We've been enjoying the Apologia Young Explorers series for a couple of years now. Just one note... you mentioned that it does not include supplemental book suggestions. While that's definitely true of the new editions, I can say that Zoology 1 (Flying Creatures) actually did!! (It was in the note-booking journal). It was the ONE feature of the older edition that I appreciated! I wish the new ones did include supplemental books. I don't know if any of the older editions of the updated books (Astronomy, Botany) ever included lists because I never got my hands on a copy of them. But I hope that if/when they update the Zoology one(s) that they keep the book suggestions!!!
Good to know! Someone else mentioned book suggestions in the notebooking journal and I was confused because they definitely aren't in any of our notebooking journals...but we don't have any of the older editions, so that makes sense now!
Thank you so much. Your videos are so useful. I love your channel. Can I ask something unrelated to this video? Why did you name your channel seven in all and who are those people in your introduction video? I've been trying to figure that out for months now, I know some pictures have you and your husband but there are some other people in there and you have 2 kids expecting a third so why 7 in all?
That's a question so many people have...and if it was possible to change the name of the channel, I would change it to make it less confusing! However, for some reason, with how I originally set up this channel, RUclips doesn't allow the name to be changed.
The backstory is....many years ago, this channel was originally a 'siblings' project where myself and my siblings made silly videos together for the fun of it (remember back when RUclips wasn't very serious? ha!). At the time, there were 7 of us siblings, hence, "Seven in All." In the years since...another sibling was added (why I now say I'm the oldest of eight)...and then during the long lockdowns of 2020, I started making homeschool videos and put them on this old channel I had opened up all those years ago. At this point, we're just rolling with "Seven in All" as the family nickname and my siblings and extended family do show up in videos from time to time. :)
@@SevenInAll Thank you so much for your clarification. I love your channel. It's my favorite homeschool channel!
Aww, thank you so much! I appreciate hearing that!@@gracieperkins1182
I had been wondering what the name meant too. That’s really interesting!
My older daughter struggles with family science so she only joins us with certain topics!!! We don’t do tests so no tests are awesome!!! We prefer narrations!!! When we include books we include books that we have!!! We have a bigger science library!!!
For those who don't do tests, not having tests is definitely a pro!
I know this will be different for each family, but as a fellow nerdy homeschool mom who loves all things homeschool 😉, what would you say is the ideal order for the Young Explorer Series? I have an idea where I want to start next year when my oldest is in 1st grade but I love to hear how others would approach it!
Apologia has a suggested curriculum path on their website: www.apologia.com/curriculum-scope/
I plan to start with the Astronomy one next year when my son is in 1st grade--we have done a lot of animal/nature science so far, but no space science, so I think that will be a fun and new topic!
We did Astronomy when my oldest was in 1st and loved it! Then went to Botany next... but found it rather challenging. In hindsight it would have been better to wait and do one of the Zoology ones. We did Flying Creatures last year with my oldest in 3rd (2nd born in 1st). It was a good fit level-wise but the older edition was meh, and my kids missed the new ones. So we are doing Earth Science now. It is a bit on the easy side for my 4th grader, but a good fit for the 2nd grader, IMO. Hope that helps!
I also noticed in the junior notebook there is a list of books and dvds after every chapter that are optional to dive deeper into the content of that chapter.
That's great!
Can the textbook be used without the journal?
also have you done their preschool science? wondering how it compares in difficulty to say astrology for a young learner
I have not used Apologia's preschool science. I would say that I don't think I'd use Apologia's Astronomy for any lower than 1st grade--the vocabulary and concepts would be pretty intense for a typical kindergartener.
I really want to love Apologia elementary science series but the Zoology series has a lot and too much of information to be taught to lower elementary kids. I was initially excluding those to fit my younger one at 1st and 2nd grade, then I started seeing no point of using this curriculum any more so we switched. For my older one, physics and Chem at 4th grade and Human Anatomy at 5th grade were fine. She is using Novare Physical science at 6th grade but will probably try again to do Apologia high school science. I am just always baffled about the Zoology series; I have them in our shelf not being to use as we want to.
You're definitely right--the information is a LOT and too much when thinking of a typical beginner elementary student (there will be gifted 1st graders or the kind that REALLY gobble up science who could handle it...but it's a lot). I think trying to hit the age span of 1st-6th grade is a really tall order for a science curriculum...and there's naturally going to be some grade levels or ages that just don't fit the content all that well.
I would say that the newly-released editions (so far, Zoology 1 has been released in a new edition) make a lot of improvements that will make them easier to use with younger students. There's still a lot of content, but the text is significantly less bulky and there are more diagrams and illustrations that 'show' what's being talked about in the text. The new edition student notebooks are also much improved. That's not very helpful to you since you already own them, but hopefully will be helpful to others going forward.
So glad to hear that the revisions are making it easier for younger students! I have bought Flying and Land Creatures, as well as Anatomy, and I feel like they’re all best for 4th grade plus; and Anatomy is closer to middle school level. I wish I would have found their Astronomy first!
. @tori.homeschoolingmom Apologia Astrnomy was the first one we tried. It was fine for 3-4th grader but still had some details. (I also MasterBook God's Design Heaven & Earth and I thought it had a very similar content in a better organized way but it could be my personal preference. I recommend you compare). Apologia Human Anatomy covers a lot and it has as good details as the human body section of high school biology. When my gifted 5th grader was doing biology, we were able to use Apologia Human Anatomy, FYI. I think it is a great book for a 5th grader adn middle schooler to use in one semester or for a year.
do you like apologia or Sonlights science more? I’m trying to decide for my 5 year old. Thinking to add science maybe halfway through our kinder year because we’re a big science family
Hmmm...that's a hard one to say, they are both so different. I am actually using both Sonlight A and Apologia Astronomy right now, because my oldest LOVES Science. I would say Apologia is better if you want to really focus on one topic and learn a lot about that topic, while Sonlight covers a wider variety of different topics throughout the year. I personally really enjoy Sonlight--I enjoy the books and the science experiment videos are delightful, and we've loved the hands on experiments...and I also feel like we are learning a lot about space and having a good time using Astronomy...although maybe because of this specific topic (space) it has felt a little less hands-on.
Thank you for your content! I noticed you had the newest edition of Zoology 1.I see that Apologia has been coming out with newer editions of the young explorer series over the past several years. Given your experience with Apologia, what do you think of the newer editions and journals vs. the older editions? I have been searching for a review of this and not had much luck. I have some older editions but have been eyeing the newer ones and wondering if they might be better suited to my science loving family.
I think Apologia has made some fantastic improvements to the textbooks and the student notebooks in the newer editions--and that's also the feedback from friends I have that have used both. The textbooks break up the text better and have more in the way of visual diagrams, and I think the student notebooks are a little more engaging. The content is largely the same, but organized better.
That’s very good to know. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I’ll definitely consider updating some of my editions. On another note I just recently got some Crinkleroot books for my kids and we’re excited to dive in! 😊
Aww, that's awesome! Jim Arnosky's books are fantastic. @@lauranelson3267
Hello! Thank you for such an informative video! About how long does it take to read through the recommended reading for the day? Thank you!
Probably 10-20 minutes, depending on how much you stop and discuss or chat about it.
I feel like that’s totally doable! Thank you for getting back to me so quickly!
How about scanning (with phone app) then printing the Journals!?
I have been doing this with different books.
It's usually considered okay to copy pages out of books that you own for personal use within your family, although you can always check with individual publisher's permissions if it is a concern.
Hello, I started using Apologia science curriculum. I was wondering a few things, how often do you do Apologia with your kids and how long will one curriculum (set of 2 books, textbook and workbook) last?
One curriculum is intended to last for one school year. I suspect we will end up finishing ours in less than one school year. The student notebook provides a schedule that usually works pretty well for doing science 2 days a week throughout the school year. We do ours at least 2 days a week, but more often 3 or 4 days a week, because my son loves science. - This is for this Elementary series, the middle and high school science from Apologia is different.
It really depends on your family. "As quickly as you can, as slowly as you need to." We go year-round and try to do 4 days a week but that doesn't always happen. Also, we combined Apologia Botany with Answers in Genesis God's Design for Life - but just the Plants section. That said, we started around the middle to the end of April (or maybe the beginning of May? I'd have to look...) and today is July 30th. We should already be done by the end of next month! Yes, we FLEW through it haha
I've heard a lot of families do it in a semester but others spread it out over an entire year. Again, it's really up to you and your family 😊
Hello! Did I see somewhere you are doing Sonlight Science and Apologia? How are they working together? Thank you!
I'm not yet doing both, but my plan for 1st grade (next year) is to do both Sonlight Science and Apologia--we've been enjoying Sonlight Science K quite a bit, but finding it 'light' for my science-loving kid (as in, we finish up a week's worth in 3 days and he would still like to do science the other two days of the week)...in talking to other families with kids who gobble up science, I came across the idea to just go ahead and do two curriculums and see how that goes! My idea is to continue doing Sonlight Science 3 days a week and do Apologia on the other 2 days (since the Apologia schedule calls for 2 days a week anyways).
Would you recommend getting a student notebook for each “student” in your family? I have a 1st and 3rd grader or could we work from the same one?
I would lean toward working on just one notebook together, esp. if your 1st grader isn't writing independently that much yet. If your kids really like to or want to have their own, you could definitely get two, but we tend to work on them together and share.